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M.S. Real Estate Development

Overview
The Master of Science in Real Estate Development program is a three-semester degree that combines the fundamental skills of professional real estate with a holistic approach to urban development as a creative act. The program is cross-disciplinary, drawing on its proximity to other modes of practice at the school, and is grounded in the three core tenets of global urban real estate development: the financial, the physical, and the social. It attracts future business leaders looking for an alternative to an MBA and committed architects hoping to run their own design/build firm. The program’s strength lies in its ability to weave current knowledge and best practices from the industry together with rigorous theoretical learning, incisive critical analysis, and immersive real-world case studies.

The Real Estate Development program is structured to provide a comprehensive understanding of finance and investment, project management, predevelopment analysis, zoning and planning, acquisition underwriting, and the value of design in real estate practices. In recent years, the program has greatly expanded its emphasis on financial investment and strengthened its relevancy in terms of real estate markets, introducing a new real estate technology sequence to the curriculum and increasing the availability of technology resources for research. The curriculum builds its foundational knowledge incrementally over the three terms: the first semester is dedicated to developing solid, core competencies and the majority of classes are required; the second, grants more space to focus on the development of specific industry interests; and the third consists mostly of deep-dive electives offered across GSAPP, Columbia Business School, Columbia School of International and Public Affairs, and Columbia Law School. The program culminates in a final Capstone project.

The program’s Capstone class begins with initial group work as students learn about five different active real estate case-study sites, and ends with individual Capstone projects. Students must create their own personalized Capstone “deal-book” (with all the relevant financial information, design proposals, and market analysis data), as well as deliver a presentation and defend their project to an audience of peers, alumni, and faculty. 

The Master of Science in Real Estate Development curriculum is bolstered by its proximity to the city and to the real-world opportunities that it offers: Professionals from the real-estate industry in New York City visit campus daily as adjunct professors, alumni mentors, and lunchbox lecture speakers. Approximately a third of individuals in the program complete a part-time spring internship to gain additional work experience in NYC.

Contact

For more information on the program, please email realestate@arch.columbia.edu or call (212) 854-3524

For more information about Career Services, Industry Outreach & Placement, please email Rebecca Andersen Polimeda.

Curriculum

Intensive Summer Semester

The introduction to the program begins with immersion in real estate finance, construction technology, market analytics, and other foundational subjects. Electives are limited to allow students with diverse background experiences to build essential financial, graphic, and analytical competencies.

Expansive Fall Semester

While core skills continue to be developed—particularly in finance, history of development, and real estate law—students are given significant elective opportunities to broaden their theoretical and applied skill sets by concentrating on the unique finance or design course tracks available only at Columbia.

Integrated Spring Semester

With a central focus on capstone projects, complex financial and economic modeling, and public policy, students bring together a cross-disciplinary portfolio of independent and supervised research and coursework, graduating with a holistic professional foundation.

Columbia GSAPP MSRED Program Introduction
Current Faculty
Michael Adelstein
Mitchell Adelstein
Shaishav Agarwal
Nathalia Bernardo
Marisa Alexandra Kefalidis
Stephen Lefebvre
C. Marisa Rodriguez
Margaret Streicker-Porres
Meghan Taylor-Steshyn
James von Klemperer
Robert Wertheimer
Recent News
May 9
Dev Motwani '06 MSRED, Nitin Motwani '04 MSRED, and David Dishy '89 MSRED included in Commercial Observer’s Power 100
Show More

Fall 2024 Courses

Course Semester Title Student Work Instructor Syllabus Requirements & Sequence Location & Time Session & Points Call No.
Pla4312‑1 Fall 2024
Real Estate Finance II: Case Studies
Chris Munsell
113 AVERY
TH 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
3 Points
11241
PLA4326‑1 Fall 2024
Real Estate Concepts Tutorial II
Eric Andersen
113 AVERY
W 7 PM - 8:30 PM
FULL SEMESTER
3 Points
11242
PLA4539‑1 Fall 2024
The Development Process II
Cecily King
113 AVERY
TH 11 AM- 1 PM
FULL SEMESTER
3 Points
11244
PLA4543 Fall 2024
Development Process Lab
Aaron Zeligs REQUIRED
113 AVERY
0 Points
18059
Pla6050‑1 Fall 2024
Internship
Rebecca Andersen Polimeda
NA
FULL SEMESTER
1.5 Points
11245
Pla6252‑1 Fall 2024
ARCHITECT AND DEVELOPMENT DIALOGUES
Raquel Ramati
209 FAYERWEATHER
TU 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
SES B
1.5 Points
11246
Pla6259‑1 Fall 2024
Capital Markets : REIT Analysis
David Kruth
113 AVERY HALL
W11 AM - 1 PM
3 Points
11247
Pla6265‑1 Fall 2024
Underwriting
Chris Munsell
113 AVERY
TH 4 PM - 6 PM
SES A
1.5 Points
11249
Pla6281‑1 Fall 2024
Hotel Development and Investment Analysis
Adam Feil
209 FAYERWEATHER
F 9 AM -11 AM
SES B
1.5 Points
11251
Pla6377‑1 Fall 2024
Funds Management and Capital Raising
Michael Clark, Marc Weidner
113 AVERY
TU 4 PM - 6 PM
SES A
1.5 Points
11252
Pla6378‑1 Fall 2024
THE ART OF THE DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL
Brian Loughlin
114 AVERY
F 9 AM - 11 AM
3 Points
11284
Pla6568‑1 Fall 2024
Public-Private Partnerships in Real Estate Development
Mehul Patel
209 FAYERWEATHER
M 6:30 PM -8:30 PM
SES B
1.5 PTS Points
11255
Pla6603‑1 Fall 2024
Lease Analysis & Financial Metrics
Sara Queen
113 AVERY
TU 6:30 PM -8:30 PM
SES A
1.5 Points
11257
PLA6721‑1 Fall 2024
DESIGN BY DEVELOPMENT: POSSIBILITIES OF FORM
Eran Chen
209 FAYERWEATHER
M 9 AM - 11 AM
SES B
1.5 Points
11258
PLA6798‑1 Fall 2024
Legal Principles of Real Estate
Mitchell Nelson
113 AVERY
W 9 AM - 11 AM
SES B
1.5 Points
11259
Pla6840‑1 Fall 2024
Real Estate Valuation & Investment Analysis
Jake Pesci
113 AVERY
TU 9 AM - 11AM
SES B
1.5 Points
11263
PLA6847‑1 Fall 2024
Proptech: Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained
Zachary Aarons
209 FAYERWEATHER
M 11 AM - 1 PM
SES A
1.5 Points
11264
PLA6892‑1 Fall 2024
Design by Development: Underwriting and Analysis
Alex Barrett
209 FAYERWEATHER
TU 4 PM - 6 PM
SES B
1.5 Points
11269
PLA6897‑1 Fall 2024
Securitized Commercial Real Estate Debt
Shaishav Agarwal
113 AVERY
TH 9 AM - 11 AM
SES B
1.5 Points
11277
PLA6906‑1 Fall 2024
Financing Community Change
Cecily King
113 AVERY
TH 1:30 - 3:30PM
FULL SEMESTER
3 Points
14268
Pla6908‑1 Fall 2024
Distressed Real Estate Investment and Asset Management
Jay Yang
203 FAYERWEATHER
W 4PM-6PM
SES B
1.5 Points
11288
Pla6330 Fall 2024
Site Planning & Support Systems
Graham Trelstad
412 AVERY
TH 5 PM - 7 PM
3 Points
10879
A6965‑1 Fall 2024
ADV V STUDIO – CLINIC
Bryony Roberts
TH 2 PM - 5 PM
FULL SEMESTER
3 Points
10536
A4892‑1 Fall 2024
Data Visualization for Architecture, Urbanism and the Humanities
Jia Zhang
409 AVERY
F 9 AM - 11 AM
FULL SEMESTER
3 Points
10576
A4047‑1 Fall 2024
Immeasurable Sites
Emanuel Admassu
408 AVERY
W 11 AM - 1 PM
FULL SEMESTER
3 Points
10596
A6830‑1 Fall 2024
Difference and Design
Justin Moore
412 AVERY / ONLINE
TU 3 PM - 5 PM
FULL SEMESTER
3 Points
14028
A6927‑1 Fall 2024
Science + Technology Studies
Albena Yaneva
412 AVERY
M 11 AM - 1PM
FULL SEMESTER
3 Points
10533
A6929‑1 Fall 2024
The Reimagining of Lower Manhattan Post-Sandy
Michael Kimmelman
408 AVERY
W 9 AM - 11 AM
FULL SEMESTER
3 Points
10534
Pla4444‑1 Fall 2024
The Future City: Transforming Urban Infrastructure
Kate Ascher
113 AVERY
TU 1 PM - 3 PM
3 Points
14136
A6814‑1 Fall 2024
New Towns After Smart Cities
David Smiley
412 AVERY
TU 1 PM - 3 PM
FULL SEMESTER
3 Points
14029
Pla6272‑1 Fall 2024
New York Rising: How Real Estate Shapes a City
Kate Ascher
114 AVERY
F 11 AM - 1 PM
FULL SEMESTER
3 Points
10530
ARCHA6966‑1 Fall 2024
Le Corbusier Beyond Europe
Mary McLeod
409 Avery
TU 11 AM - 1 PM
FULL SEMESTER
3 Points
18002
ARCHA6967‑1 Fall 2024
Cities of Knowledge: Orientalizing Manhattan
Ziad Jamaleddine
934 SCHERMERHORN
TU 2:10 PM - 4 PM
FULL SEMESTER
3 Points
18102

M.S. RED student Samuel Oketcho at the Fall 2016 ULI Conference in Dallas
The ULI Fall Meeting attracts more than 6,000 attendees annually, bringing together every sector of the real estate industry in one place. Columbia GSAPP’s M.S. RED students attended the Fall 2016 meeting in Dallas in full force, where student Samuel Oketcho was interview by ULI on his takeaways from the conference.